Call for Nicholson to resign

Conservative members of parliament are to call for the resignation of NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson.

The Daily Telegraph reports roughly 20 MPs are due to put their signatures to House of Commons early day motion.

The motion has been tabled by the Tory MP for Bristol North West, Charlotte Lewis, who said Sir David was responsible for a "diabolical catastrophe" at Stafford Hospital.

The results of a public enquiry published in February showed the deaths of "at least" 1,200 patients were the result of substandard care and poor management.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will support Sir David and cautioned against looking for "scapegoats" over the scandal.

Ms Leslie said: "There has been a thunderous silence around the NHS and Mid Staffs scandal, and relatives of those who died needlessly have been screaming into a vacuum for those in positions of authority who were responsible to be held to account."

"Those involved must be held accountable for their actions and face the consequences. David Nicholson was then over-all in charge of Mid Staffs. In no other walk of life would a man who had overseen such a diabolical catastrophe keep his job. So why should he be immune from responsibility? If talk of accountability is to mean anything at all, he must surely resign."